Fresno to get $28 million to replace Veterans Blvd. railroad crossing

The city of Fresno will receive up to $28 million in help from the California High-Speed Rail Authority to replace a railroad crossing set for closure because of the bullet-train line.

The rail agency, meeting Thursday in Sacramento, authorized a cooperative agreement with the city for work on a new Veterans Boulevard overpass above the existing Union Pacific Railroad freight line and the proposed high-speed train tracks in northwest Fresno. Under the terms of the agreement, the new overpass will replace Carnegie Avenue, which is now an at-grade crossing for nearby residents to reach Golden State Boulevard. Carnegie would be closed because of the high-speed rail project.

Diana Gomez, the rail authority's regional director for the Central Valley, said the state expects to pick up the tab for about $28 million for construction of the Veterans Boulevard overpass, while the city will be responsible for about $9 million for environmental studies, engineering, buying right of way for the new overpass, and relocating utilities.

The Fresno City Council approved the agreement in September.

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The new overpass will tie in with work the rail authority is already planning to realign a portion of Golden State Boulevard to make way for the high-speed train tracks, which are proposed to run just west of, and parallel to, the Union Pacific freight tracks through northwest and west-central Fresno.